VENUS Bay and Tarwin Lower Locals were left stranded and angry when they were unable to get fuel this morning at Tarwin Fuel as the property landlord evicted the tenant and business owner.
Manager of Tarwin Fuel, Yubaraj Khadka took over the business five months ago, moving from Darwin to the town with his pregnant wife, as they fell in love with the area.
Venus Bay local Tracey Kershaw states that the business is the best it has been in the thirty years she’s lived there, stating they have cleaned up the shop, stocked it with food, dropped the price of petrol and have been delivering gas.
However, this morning Mr Khadka was shocked at finding the landlord on his business and home premises.
“I was sitting in the shop and when the locksmith and property manager, they popped in, and then they started locking me out, and they started locking the browsers, everything. They're changing the locks and everything,” explained Mr. Khadka.
“This is totally illegal, and I do have all the evidence.”
Mr Khadka explains that he hadn’t paid rent due to a number of issues and tried to negotiate with the landlord who was not open to this.
The branding was then taken down as he stopped buying fuel off Shell Viva, looking for local fuel suppliers – and needed a Tank Integrity Test Report, for these suppliers, as there had been an issue with water inside one of the tanks.
The tanks have not been changed in some time and according to Mr Khadka, and providing a report falls under the responsibility of the landlord.
“The underground thing is the landlord responsibility, and when I requested that one he stopped responding to my emails, and then I stopped paying rent, because I wasn't getting any secure fuel supply.”
“After a month period, they sent me a breach of notice, which I replied to that notice too. And I have also a case with the Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC) about the same matter.”
“That's the first step to go, I think, for us, before we go to any court matter or something like that. And while the case is pending with VSBC, they are not legally entitled to evict me or lock me out,” explained Mr Khadka.
The landlord, Mr Gaurav Shegal, sent Mr. Khadka a Notice of Breach about a week ago but no notice of eviction was given.
“The minimum of the legal paperwork he should have is a VCAT order. And also there is a process again, to evict me. I mean, if I do not follow the VSBC order, then the case goes to the Sheriff, and the Sheriff can only forcefully evict me.”
The Sentinel Times contacted the landlord of Tarwin Furel, Mr. Shegal who was not willing to speak about the situation and said, “I think the lawyers would be happy to give you the whole story.”
Mt Shegal did not provide further details of his lawyers.
Mr Khadka also lives on the premises, which they are now locked out of.
“My wife is pregnant, you know, and we live in this property. It's not only the business. We do live in there, and it has affected me. Now I'm not sure where I'm going to go.”